Agenda item

Green Garden Waste Collection - Charging Methodology and Implementation Plan

To submit a joint report by the Director of Function (Resources)/Section 151 Officer and the Head of Highways, Waste and Property.

Minutes:

Submitted - a report by the Head of Highways, Waste and Property on the

introduction of a chargeable Green Garden Waste collection service from 1 April  2021.

 

The Portfolio Holder for Highways, Waste and Property requested that the Committee considers the options presented and comments on the proposal to charge £35 per annum for the first green garden waste wheeled bin collection service, and £30 thereafter for each additional wheeled bin.  He stated that the proposal is in-keeping with the Welsh Government’s Waste Collection Blueprint, which recommends that Welsh local authorities should apply a charge for collecting green bin garden waste.  It was noted that every County in        North Wales is charging for the collection service. The Council has decided that   there will be no charge for the service for cemeteries, places of worship or village/community halls.  Payment for the service can be made by phone or online.  The fee will be a contribution towards the cost of providing the service, and each bin will receive a sticker/address label displaying the current year on it.  

 

  The Head of Highways, Waste and Property reported that the Executive on 27 January 2020 agreed on the principle of charging for the green bin collection service.  It was noted that not every household will want to sign up to the service, and this has been factored into the plan.  With regard to staffing arrangements, two new temporary members of staff will be employed to administer the payments.

 

Members of the Committee raised the following matters:-

 

·           Have any other North Wales authorities encountered any negative impact from charging to remove green garden waste, and, has fly tipping and people putting green waste in black bins increased due to the changes?  The Chief Waste Management Officer responded that there is no evidence that fly tipping has increased, and people put black bins in green bins at present. He stated that the situation is difficult to monitor, without checking the contents of each individual bin. 

·           A request was made for phone payments to have a separate line for the Service, so that payments can be made directly.  The Director of Function (Resources)/Section 151 Officer responded that the public will be encouraged to pay online, as the technology is in place, and the system is currently in operation.

·           Could the green bin collection payment system be based on Council Tax banding?  The Director of Function (Resources)/Section 151 Officer responded that the cost the Council would incur would be the same if a bin was full or half-full.  If payments were based on Council Tax bandings, the online system would need to check the banding for each property, and this technology is not available in the Council.

·           Would it be possible to pay monthly through direct debit for the service in order to be less of a financial burden on families?  The Director of Function (Resources)/Section 151 Officer responded by noting that this would cause complexities as the public could start paying for the service and then decide not to continue with the payments, when they would have already received the sticker on the bin.  This would require Council staff to collect the sticker which would not be cost effective, and would increase the administrative work required.

·            A suggestion was put forward that the Council could get additional income   from composting green waste.  The Director of Function (Resources)/Section 151 Officer responded by noting that there are specific conditions within the European grant which do not allow the Council to sell the compost generated from the green waste to generate an income.  The Chief Waste Management Officer noted that there is a cost incurred in disposing of green waste.

·      A question was raised as to what happens to the sticker on the bin if you move house?  It was noted that a new sticker and green bin would be  issued, and the service would continue from the new address.

 

RESOLVED:-

 

·       To recommend that the Executive accepts a charge of £35 per annum for the first Green Garden Waste wheeled bin collection service and  £30 per annum for additional wheeled bins.

·       That the additional expenditure budget required is funded from the income generated by implementing the charge.

 

Supporting documents: